The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported1 that the percentage
of Americans living in poverty increased by 14.3 percent in 2009 -- the
highest rate of poverty in 15 years. An additional 4 million Americans
found themselves in poverty in 2009, bringing the total to 44 million.

More than 509,100 Ohio residents are currently without a job and more
than 13.8 percent are living below the federal poverty line. Assurance
Wireless gives eligible customers the ability to provide a contact
number and return calls to a prospective employer, which, studies show,
can improve the chances of securing employment.

“As we’ve become available in more and more states, Assurance is proud
to help customers stay connected to potential employers, medical
providers and child care-givers,” said Grace Boehm, director for
Assurance Wireless. “We look forward to providing this same type of
assistance to eligible Ohioans who need support and resources during,
what continue to be, rough economic times for many.”

According to a nationwide survey from Assurance Wireless*, adults with
an income of less than $25,000 are as likely to use their mobile phone
for employment searches as those with higher incomes.

“I was unemployed for an extended amount of time due to layoffs,” stated
Evan M., 37, an Assurance Wireless customer. “The free phone and service
I received from Assurance Wireless was invaluable to my finding new
employment and to my efforts to recover from this recession. It allowed
me to contact potential employers and provide a way for them to respond
to me, while also saving money needed to provide for my family.
Assurance also gave me peace of mind that I had a way to stay connected
to my kids while away from home.”

According to a recent report, “if all 28.5 million adults eligible for
Lifeline Assistance were to take advantage of the program and earn at
the same rate and level as [the study] sample, it would result in $3.7
billion in fresh income for the poor and near poor.”2

In addition to a voice mail account3 and call waiting,
Assurance Wireless provides caller ID and access to 911 in case of
emergency. Beyond the free 250 voice minutes, customers can choose from
other options to pay for additional minutes, texting, international
calling and more at competitive rates.

Assurance Wireless is currently available in Alabama, Arkansas,
Connecticut, Delaware, Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa,
Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia. This list of states
continues to expand and can be found on the Assurance website.

About Assurance Wireless

Assurance Wireless, one of Sprint’s
prepaid brands, is supported by the Lifeline Assistance program, part of
the Low Income Program of the federal Universal Service Fund (USF),
which is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company
(USAC), and designed to ensure that quality telecommunications services
are available to low-income customers at reasonable and affordable
rates. Assurance Wireless uses the Nationwide Sprint Network which
reaches more than 275 million people.

AboutSprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline
communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers,
businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 278
million customers at the end of 1Q 2011 and is widely recognized for
developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including
the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United
States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid
brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance
Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities;
and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 6 in
its 2010 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest
companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn
more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com
or www.facebook.com/sprint
and www.twitter.com/sprint.

Note:sources for all information and statistics are available
upon request.

*PKS Research Partners was commissioned by Sprint/Nextel (Assurance
Wireless) to conduct a research project among a nationally
representative sample of U.S. adults 25 years or older in order to
determine their attitudes toward and usage of mobile phones.

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